Archive: Around Town

The Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response's 9-1-1 Center has successfully met all Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) requirements for the Project 33 Agency Training Program Certification. The department began pursuing certification in 2014 and is the first public safety dispatch center in New York State to earn this national certification.

The APCO Project 33 Training Certification is a process for public safety agencies to certify their training programs as meeting APCO American National Standards (ANS). The Tompkins County 9-1-1 Center applied for certification last year and submitted its curriculum, training materials and supporting documentation for compliance review, demonstrating the agency's commitment to training its dispatchers in order to provide the best possible service to the community while meeting national standards.

"The increased numbers and complexity of calls our dispatchers must handle requires our department to provide sound, comprehensive training and continuing education.  That we meet the APCO Project 33 Standard affirms our commitment to meeting the public's expectation when they call 911," said Tompkins County Director of Emergency Response Lee Shurtleff.  "Our goal is to provide a consistent and high level of service, and the procedures and education these standards define will greatly help us in continuing to meet that goal."

Tompkins County's 9-1-1 Center will be one of 16 centers formally recognized at the annual APCO conference in Washington DC in August.

v11i24